Highway Inn up for grabs

The historic Highway Inn is once again up for sale.

Listed by selling agent Paul Murphy of LJ Hooker, the Highway Inn has a chequered sales past.

The imposing two story building sold for $550,000 in 2005 before quickly changing hands in 2006 for $126,000 and again in 2007 for $135,000. The building languished for several years before being purchased by an investor in 2014 for a steal at $80,000. The building had been rented as a private home until late in 2022.

The building sits on the corner of Murray and Lachlan Streets – the Cobb and Mid-Western Highways – and was built in 1940. Period features remain, including art deco style glass doors, timber flooring and sweeping staircase of silky oak. The kitchen features an imposing ‘Sampson’ brand slow combustion stove.

It was 1938 when the plans for ‘The Highway’ began to take shape. Tooth and Co had been planning a replacement for the ageing Terminus Hotel so architect, Mr J H Robertson, drew plans for a modern hotel on a modest scale, at the north end of the town, close to the railway station. The hotel opened in October 1940, with the licence transferred from the old Terminus Hotel. The first licensee was Cornelius Jessop.

The two-storey brick building featured a cantilevered awning over the corner footpath and tiled façade to the ground floor with inset advertising mirrors.

Local couples Peter and Pat Montgomery and Kevin and Ann Goldspink formed a partnership and successful ran the hotel from 1985 to 2005, when they sold to a hotel company in September of that year.

The six-bedroom, four-bathroom property is currently listed for $389,000.